Cheeseburger High Protein Quiche
This cheeseburger-inspired High Protein Quiche is a gluten-free, grain-free recipe made with Ground Sirloin Beef, cheddar cheese, baby spinach, and tomatoes. Perfect for your next brunch, or a make-ahead quick breakfast on busy weekdays. You get 35 grams of protein per serving with this recipe. High-protein breakfasts are the best way to start the day!
*This post is a collaboration with Beef. It’s What’s for Dinner., on behalf of the Beef Checkoff, as part of my role as a compensated member of the Beef Expert Bureau. However, all opinions are my own and are not influenced in any way.
Unlike traditional quiches, this recipe uses lean beef for the crust. If replacing the traditional crust with meat sounds weird, trust me when I say it’s really delicious! The “burger” crust adds incredible flavor and a nice texture to the bottom of the quiche. You’ve got all of the traditional yummy flavors of a cheeseburger in a delicious low-carb, high-protein, one-dish, meal.
This nutritious meal prep recipe is inspired by a quiche recipe from PaleoOMG that I’ve been making for the last 6 years or so. It’s so good, y’all! I usually double her recipe to make two quiches, one for dinner and another for breakfast. If I’m putting forth the effort to make one quiche, I might as well double it and make my life easier later. Who’s with me?!
You guys know I’m a huge fan of making healthy tasty and easy, and one super easy approach to achieve this is by prepping meals ahead of time. I’ve recently been inspired by Strength: The Field Manual, a handbook that provides guidance and meal prep strategies to build healthier meals.
The great thing about this quiche recipe is that it reheats beautifully and makes my life easier in the morning when we are in a rush. It’s also a great healthy meal prep recipe to portion out for the week to save time on busy weeknights.
If you’re looking to build strength through good nutrition in your own life, check out the Manual to learn how to take action with your nutrition and fitness to develop the strength to be your best.
A few more breakfast meal prep recipe favorites are these Southwest Beef and Egg Muffins and my favorite Easy Protein Blender Pancakes.
Ingredients You’ll Need
- Ground sirloin– 90/10 ground sirloin is perfect for this recipe because it has enough fat to retain moisture and flavor, but is still leaner than ground chuck.
- Spices– you’ll need garlic powder, onion powder, and paprika for seasoning the beef. You can also add Worcestershire sauce to this mix if desired.
- Olive oil– for sautéing the onion and spinach. You can use cooking spray, if preferred, to lower to fat content a bit.
- Onion– I love sweet onion (Vidalia) in this recipe but feel free to use your favorite onion variety. Finely chopped green onions are a great substitute.
- Baby spinach– Adding leafy greens gives this quiche a great nutrition boost
- Tomatoes– I recommend Roma tomatoes for their firm texture and easy seeding. Make sure to remove the seeds before chopping so it doesn’t water down the quiche.
- Cheese– I use sharp cheddar for this recipe, but feel free to switch this up with your favorite type of cheese. I recommend shredding cheese from the block for the best texture and flavor.
- Eggs– you’ll need 4 large whole eggs for this recipe.
- Seasoning– don’t forget the salt and black pepper for seasoning the quiche before it bakes.
How To Make A High Protein Quiche “Crust”
Step 1. Combine the lean ground beef and spices in a large mixing bowl.
Step 2. Spray a shallow pie plate (not a deep dish) with olive oil cooking spray. Using your fingertips or the back of a large spoon, press the meat to line the bottom of the pie plate, making sure to go all the way up the sides of the pan. It can even go above the plate since you’ll have some shrinkage as it bakes.
Step 3. Bake the meat “crust” for 10 minutes at 375 degrees F.
Recipe Tip
Drain the grease from the pie plate after you have cooked the “crust” when it comes out of the oven. It’s totally fine that it shrinks up in the pan. It will shrink as the meat cooks. It should cover most of the side and the bottom of the pie pan if you pressed it firmly up the side of the dish.
How To Make The Veggie Quiche Filling
Step 1. Sauté the onions and spinach and spread them on top of your meat crust.
Step 2. Then top with the chopped tomatoes and shredded cheese.
Step 3. Pour the egg filling on top. Bake quiche for 25 minutes or until the filling is set in the middle.
Variations
There are so many tasty filling options that you can do with this healthy breakfast recipe. This gluten-free high-protein quiche recipe with lean ground beef is a new favorite in our meal prep recipe rotation. It’s a delicious low-carb recipe packed with protein and veggies.
More Delicious Quiche Recipes
Gluten-Free Ham, Spinach, and Gruyere Quiche
Cottage Cheese Quiche with Spinach
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Cheeseburger High Protein Quiche
Equipment
- Skillet
- Oven
Ingredients
- 1 lb Ground Sirloin beef 90/10
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 1 tsp onion powder
- 1 tsp paprika
- 1 tsp Worcestershire sauce *optional
- 1 tbsp olive oil extra virgin
- 1/2 onion, finely chopped
- 5 oz fresh baby spinach leaves you'll need a 3-5 oz bag or container of fresh baby spinach
- 2 Roma tomatoes seeded and chopped
- 4 oz 50% light sharp cheddar cheese shredded from block
- 4 eggs
- salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
- In a large bowl, combine ground beef, onion powder, garlic powder, paprika, and Worcestershire sauce (if using) until blended.
- Press into a lightly oiled pie dish (regular not deep dish), making sure to cover the bottom and the sides of the dish to form a "crust"
- Bake for 10 minutes. Drain excess grease out of pan and set aside to cool. (It will shrink a bit but that's ok)
- Heat olive oil in a sauté pan over medium heat and cook onions until soft, about 4 minutes.
- Spread cooked onions on top of the beef crust.
- Add spinach to the pan and cook until just wilted. Spread spinach on top of onions.
- Top with tomatoes and shredded cheese and season with salt and pepper.
- Whisk eggs until blended and pour over top.
- Bake for 25 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
Notes
- Make sure to drain the fat from the meat crust after it has cooked and before filling with the veggie mixture.
- You’ll want to use a regular pie dish, not a deep dish pie dish, for this recipe. The filling will fill a regular shallow pie pan, but not a deep dish pan.
Nutrition
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The recipe was a winner, but expectations need some tweaking. The result was less like a quiche, but more like a casserole in a pie pan. Next time, I’ll use MORE beef to get a solid later. When cooked, the bottom separated (shrunk, leaving gaps) as well as the sides shrinking. But when done, you couldn’t really tell anyway. I did have to add two more eggs. The four eggs on top — didn’t even cover the top. I quickly whisked two more — perfect. And, as personal preference, I added green chiles because I’m from New Mexico! Next time: a bit more ground beef, two more eggs, more green chile, and drain a can of Rotel to save money and cut down on the task of chopping tomatoes… Otherwise, VERY GOOD. Better in a round pie pan than in a square pan! And as with all things…leftover was better the next day. This is DEFINITELY a make ahead dish!
Hi Kris! Thanks for the feedback! Yes, the meat does shrink as the fat separates, but once it’s baked you’d never know. I wouldn’t say it’s the most gorgeous dish to photograph, lol, but definitely tasty! I love your Rotel swap!